In the quiet glasshouses of Yarralumla, an amazing plant is growing: it looks like being one of the cures for COVID.
Scientists have isolated a substance in a eucalypt which they believe can be processed and given to patients with lung problems - like those with long COVID.
The plants are being grown in the ACT government's nursery to be processed into what may become relief from the worst symptoms of the illness which plagues the planet.
This natural treatment (with a scientific basis) has already had preliminary approvals from regulators before it goes into human trial.
The substance in the plants - pinocembrin - has been tried on sheep with good results. The next move is to try it on humans. Sheep with lung disease improved after treatment with the substance. Those which weren't treated didn't.
Pinocembrin occurs elsewhere in nature. It is in honey, for example, but in such small quantities that it can't be harvested for medical use on humans (though bees may benefit).
The breakthrough with the eucalypts is to find a plant which is easy to grow and which can be harvested for the substance. The role of the nursery in Yarralumla is to grow it in big enough batches to transport it to the scientists for development.
If the hoped for results in the trials turn the current amber light to green, a product would be available in inhalers in 18 months to two years. Long COVID sufferers would literally breathe more easily.
"Nature is the world's greatest scientist," Alistair Cumming, chief executive of the GRETALS company behind the project, said.
The company he founded has teamed up with the Canberra nursery and with scientists at the University of Melbourne, Monash University and Swinburne University of Technology.
"All we have to do is work with people like Yarralumla, with the universities, with assistance from government to be able to find these compounds which have got no major untoward side-effects and have got enormous opportunities," Mr Cumming said.
The compound in the leaves had a lot of potential, he said. He was pleased with the initial results of the trials and the way the regulatory authorities were reacting.
When the compound was given to sick sheep, they found it had anti-inflammatory effects (easing the swelling of airways so the lungs could operate better). COVID attacks the lungs and in its worst cases makes people feel as though they are drowning.
Vaccines help stop people getting COVID but scientists are also seeking drugs which stop its worst effects - like the substance being grown in Yarralumla.
The researchers have also discovered that the substance may slow down the scarring of lungs which is another terrible, potentially fatal effect of COVID.
The research showed that "pinocembrin, derived from Australian eucalyptus trees, has strong anti-inflammatory properties and could be safe and effective at treating lung fibrosis in sheep, a large animal model for human lung disease", according to the researchers at the University of Melbourne.
For the project, the plants are being grown in Yarralumla under the supervision of Tracey Bool.
"They are a nice reliable plant - pretty straight-forward," she said.
She said the plants' growth was helped by a sea-weed extract "to make sure they are happy".
Despite her low-key and patient approach, she said she was "excited" by the project and its implications. "We feel part of something which is special. The potential is far-reaching. It's beyond exciting."
